Studies for an Angel in Glory

Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo)

1575–1633 · Red chalk on off-white laid paper washed pale ochre; main study squared for transfer · Drawings and Prints

Made in preparation for a flying angel on the frescoed ceiling in the church of Sant’Antonio Abate, Milan, this drawing explores the dynamic pose of a male figure seen from below. At the sides of the main study, the artist has repeated elements of the body to increase his understanding of the model’s anatomy and his complex, floating pose. A brilliantly original Baroque master from Northern Italy, Tanzio da Varallo was also a skilled draftsman, as can be appreciated by the luminous quality of this drawing, executed over an ocher-prepared ground.

Artist

Antonio d'Enrico Tanzio (Tanzio da Varallo)

Date

1575–1633

Medium

Red chalk on off-white laid paper washed pale ochre; main study squared for transfer

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Gifts of Mrs. Gardner Cassatt, Mrs. Francis Ormond, Bessie Potter Vonnoh, William Benton, Donald Silve, William M. Ivins Jr., and Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney, and other gifts, bequests, and funds, by exchange, 1998